Will McLean, a Southern military school cadet with a code of honor all his own, is assigned to protect the school's first African-American student--and in so doing boldly confronts the terrifying injustice of a corrupt institution as he struggles to expose a mysterious group known as "The Ten."

A war orphan rises from her humble beginnings to become a powerful military commander, and perhaps her country's only hope for survival. "When Rin aced the Keju--the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to study at the academies--it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn't believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin's guardians, who always thought they'd be able to marry Rin off to...